Artist Quote by Marcel Proust
““then we would enter what he called his “study,” a room whose walls were hung with prints which showed, against a dark background, a pink and fleshy goddess driving a chariot, or standing upon a globe, or wearing a star on her brow—pictures which were popular under the Second Empire because there was thought to be something about them that suggested Pompeii, which were then generally despised, and which are now becoming fashionable again for one single and consistent reason (notwithstanding all the others that are advanced), namely, that they suggest the Second Empire.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: In Search of Lost Time (1913)
Describes a study filled with erotic, mythic images reflecting the Second Empire’s fascination with exoticism and decadence.
In simple terms: A room of sensual, mythic art reflecting a historic era.
Key Takeaway
Explore how art mirrors cultural obsession.
Themes
art
history
decadence
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
literary
historical
When to use this quote
- museum curation
- interior design
- historical analysis
Key Concepts
cultural symbolism
era aesthetics
Questions to Reflect On
- What does this reveal about the era?
- How do we reinterpret such art today?
A Different Perspective
May glorify problematic past aesthetics.
![“Why did Erasmus[…] transform the image of a woman yielding to the temptation of an enormous storage jar into the image of a woman carrying with her a small pyxis [box] ?” Dora and Erwin Panofsky, Pandora’s Box: The changing aspects of a Mythical Symbol, p. 18” quote by Dora and Erwin Panofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/493/dora-and-erwin-panofsky-137917_pandora-s-box-jar_why-did-erasmus-transform-the-image-of-a_3144455.jpg)
![“For her [Françoise], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between the two that she came to see their qualities as interchangeable, expecting material comfort from virtue and moral edification from wealth.” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/573/marcel-proust-114_character_for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-nece_2687.jpg)
